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Child Rights Observatory ENCRO

Egypt National Child Rights Observatory (ENCRO) is a tri-partite initiative aiming to put the bases for a scientific research mechanism

Home > Programs > Children with Disability

Children with Disability

Goal

The program is set up to create awareness on the rights of disabled persons; promote social inclusion; decrease prevalence rates; raising awareness of prevention, early detection and intervention; decrease the gap between the needs and services provided; and mainstream disability as a developmental issue.

Geographical Scope

The program is active in all the governorates of Egypt.

Target Group(s)

The program has been set up to support people with disabilities. It also targets society as a whole through advocacy strategies and campaigns.

Objectives

The main objectives of this program include:

The implementation of the national strategy for disability of 1996;
Supporting Egypt’s ratification of the Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities;
The proposal of several amendments to the Child Law promoting the rights of persons with disabilities. NCCM is currently proposing amendments to enable children with disabilities enjoy to the fullest their rights.

Achievements

The program has:

Established a hotline for disability with doctors and disability specialists that provide parents and children with answers to their disability related questions (0800 888 66 66);
Launched a website about disability that answers queries and provides basic knowledge (www.specialneeds.org.eg);
Translated the scouts training manual into braille in cooperation with the Arabic Scouts Organization as a first step towards integrating the blind in scouts activities;
Launched awareness raising campaigns in different governorates;
Designed and produced awareness raising materials including brochures about dealing with children with cerebral palsy and a video about children with Down syndrome;
Been teaching disabled children on media skills to express themselves, in cooperation with Plan International;
Been organizing training workshops on speech, physiotherapy and vocational rehabilitation for the third consecutive year, conducted by a group of Dutch experts in cooperation with the Dutch-Egyptian Friendship Association;
Been organizing and conducting training workshops for health insurance staff;
Studied the possibility of establishing a factory for artificial limbs to increase their availability at affordable prices.

Challenges

Current challenges of the program include:

the wide gap that exists between the needs and the services provided;
the lack of rights-based activities for children with disabilities;
the lack of quality assurance mechanisms to evaluate services provided;
and the perception of NCCM as a funding agency.

Partner(s)

The partners involved include:

The concerned ministries and the NGOs working in the field of disability: for example, they designed a project for Children at Risk, including disabled children, in 11 governorates. The project is funded by the EU and activities are carried out by 9 NGOs and 45 CDAs.
The private sector: Danone and Vodafone, e.g., sponsor projects in which disabled street children get access to rehabilitation services and a temporary shelter until they can be reintegrated with their families.